I was a little worried when I arrived to Broad Street and saw no commotion outside Augusta & Co. at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday.
My party and I shifted over to Bee’s Knees Coffee and Curios for a quick bite (and first button/raffle ticket of the day) before heading back to Small Business Saturday’s HQ, Augusta & Co. To my delight, a line had formed dozens deep outside the storefront.
MORE: Small Business Saturday is Nov. 27
The first 200 shoppers to arrive at Augusta and Co. could receive a “Love Augusta” tote bag. From the feedback I was able to gather from participating business owners, hundreds of tote bags were stuffed with items from our Downtown Augusta businesses over the course of the day.
On the tote bag above, the buttons each participating business handed out to shoppers also corresponded to a raffle ticket for a $300 value gift basket full of items from downtown businesses. The winner has not yet been announced. Hundreds of tickets must be collected from the businesses.
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Evan Grantski opened the store up for us and displayed his Record Store Day leftovers from a few days prior. He always has a line out the door of his own when those bi-yearly exclusives are released.
“Keep us alive,” he said. “Support the local economy.”
Grantski even unveiled a selection of cookies he made from his mother’s recipe. A nice touch for his Small Business Saturday shoppers.
The Book Tavern was humming with activity, and occasional employee (and occasional Augusta Press columnist) Marcus Plumlee told me the store was staying open until an alarming 9 p.m.
“It’s traditionally our second-biggest day of the year after Independent Bookstore Day,” Plumlee said.
MORE: Independent Bookstore Day is Just One Way to Support Local Booksellers
The Book Tavern has an extra incentive to get books off the shelves… but we will talk more about that in a few weeks.
Leela Robinson of Funhouse said that days like Small Business Saturday are vital for town culture.
“It’s a way to stretch your dollar, supporting local, and get that money in the hands of local artists and creators that live and work here.”
The social media accounts of the participating businesses were like a slot machine all day, spitting out images of shoppers showing off their button collections and hauls of books, mugs, art and apparel from the businesses throughout the Small Biz Saturday radius.
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It was one of the most fun days I’ve had in a long time.
There was a comment on one of the businesses’ Facebook pages that read, “The businesses should do this every Saturday since Christmas.”
That comment reminded me that there really is no reason we as Augustans can’t always opt to support local businesses, be it on big shopping weekends like this or during the week when choosing something to eat.
I can tell you from experience that the business owners were incredibly appreciative of the boost in support, and I’m sure they’d all love to see this many faces every Saturday, every week. Let’s meet them halfway.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
